CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Missouri

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Larry Smith, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Missouri in 1997, game by game: won vs. Eastern Michigan 44–24; lost at Kansas 7–15; won at Tulsa 42–21; lost vs. No. 7 Ohio State 10–31; won vs. Iowa State 45–21; lost at No. 22 Kansas State 11–41; won vs. Texas 37–29; won at No. 12 Oklahoma State 51–50; won at Colorado 41–31; lost vs. No. 1 Nebraska 38–45; won vs. Baylor 42–24; lost vs. No. 18 Colorado State 24–35+24−30Won 44–24 vs. Eastern Michigan+20Eastern MichiganLost 7–15 at Kansas-8KansasWon 42–21 at Tulsa+21TulsaLost 10–31 vs. No. 7 Ohio State-21No. 7 Ohio StateWon 45–21 vs. Iowa State+24Iowa StateLost 11–41 at No. 22 Kansas State-30No. 22 Kansas StateWon 37–29 vs. Texas+8TexasWon 51–50 at No. 12 Oklahoma State+1No. 12 Oklahoma StateWon 41–31 at Colorado+10ColoradoLost 38–45 vs. No. 1 Nebraska-7No. 1 NebraskaWon 42–24 vs. Baylor+18BaylorLost 24–35 vs. No. 18 Colorado State-11No. 18 Colorado State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsEastern MichiganW 44–⁠2465%
Sep 13atKansasL 7–⁠1538%
Sep 20atTulsaW 42–⁠2154%
Sep 27vs7Ohio StateL 10–⁠3129%
Oct 4vsIowa StateW 45–⁠2178%
Oct 11at22Kansas StateL 11–⁠4126%
Oct 18vsTexasW 37–⁠2946%
Oct 25at12Oklahoma StateW 51–⁠5033%
Nov 1atColoradoW 41–⁠3124%
Nov 8vs1NebraskaL 38–⁠4524%
Nov 15vsBaylorW 42–⁠2479%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs18Colorado StateHoliday BowlL 24–⁠3532%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Colorado State 35–⁠24 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 25
  2. Wk 14: 21
  3. Wk 15: 19
  4. Wk 16: 19
  5. Wk 17: 19
  6. Final: 23
Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 19
Points
392–⁠367
Coach
Larry Smith
Elo
1549 +73 this season
SP+ rating
9.6 No. 38 of 112; offense No. 9, defense No. 82
SRS
4.3 No. 44 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jerry Berndt
Defensive coordinator
Moe Ankney

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 7Ernest Blackwell RBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Ron Janes RBArizona Cardinals

All-Big 12

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Corby JonesQBCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Mike MorrisOLCoaches-1; Media-1

Second team

  • Brock OlivoRBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Travis BiebelOLCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Marquis GibsonDLCoaches-2
  • Harold PierseyDBMedia-2

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska8–⁠013–⁠02
Kansas State7–⁠111–⁠18
Texas A&M6–⁠29–⁠420
Oklahoma State5–⁠38–⁠424
Missouri5–⁠37–⁠523
Texas Tech5–⁠36–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠55–⁠6
Kansas3–⁠55–⁠6
Texas2–⁠64–⁠7
Oklahoma2–⁠64–⁠8
Baylor1–⁠72–⁠9
Iowa State1–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.